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TICK-BORNE DISEASES
These are the scariest diseases that you have never heard of, and they are rapidly spreading across the country. The symptoms of these infections are similar but vague (lameness, lack of energy, vomiting, diarrhea, runny nose or eyes, cough), offering few clues for diagnosis. Pets may become sick soon after exposure, months later, or they may not become visibly sick. Although there are effective treatments for most of these diseases, medication often only works well in the early stages of disease before any obvious signs show up. Multiple infections with more than one of these diseases may be more common and more severe than single infections. Worse of all, humans are susceptible to many of these same diseases, although they do not catch the infection directly from the pet. What these diseases have in common is that they are all spread by ticks. Preventing ticks and testing for disease in any pet that has had a tick can be lifesaving.
Most of these diseases originally were found in the Southeastern United States or the Northeast (Lyme Disease), but these infections have spread across the country for several reasons. Climate change has increased the range of the ticks that carry these infections, people are traveling and moving from areas where these diseases are common, and a large number of dogs and cats were shipped to shelters across the country after Hurricane Katrina.
THE INFECTIONS:
Lyme Disease, a spiral-shaped bacteria
Ehrlichiosis, also called Tick Fever, is a germ smaller than a bacteria but larger than a virus.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a ricketsial infection, similar to Ehrichiosis.
Babesia is a tiny parasite of red blood cells, particularly common in Greyhounds and Pit Bulls, but increasingly found in a variety of animals
Anaplasmosis is also a blood cell parasite that causes severe disease
Cytauxozoonosis is another blood infection, particularly found in cats.
Bartonella is a tiny bacteria that lives inside cells and causes a variety of chronic diseases in pets and humans
Southern Tick-associated Rash Illness is a very new addition to this “Rougue’s Gallery” of scary diseases. The bacteria that causes it is similar to the Lyme Disease bacteria.
PREVENTING TICK-BORNE DISEASES:
Avoid the favored habitats of ticks, in tall grass or woodlands. Humans should wear hats and long-sleeved shirts, and tuck the pant-legs inside the socks to prevent ticks attaching.
After a day in woods or fields, check yourself and your pet for ticks. Unfortunately, the ticks are quite small when they attach, growing larger as they suck blood. By the time the tick is noticed it may have been attached for some time.
Use appropriate medication on your pet (Frontline is our choice). Frontline kills ticks quickly enough that they rarely transmit their diseases.
If you find a tick on your pet, remove it quickly by pulling very gradually with
tweezers.Avoid twisting the tick and breaking off the mouth parts under the pet’s skin; this isn't a serious problem, but it can be irritating.
Alert your veterinarian immediately if your pet acts sick or sore.
We recommend testing your pet 3-4 weeks after tick exposure, even if the animal appears to be fine. This allows treatment to be given before the disease becomes chronic.
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